Archive for the ‘electronic devices’ Category

Willow Glass, a thin flexible glass material, was featured in the “All Tech Considered” 10/21/2013 segment of NPR’s “All Things Considered” broadcast. Willow Glass is related to “Gorilla Glass” (both made at Corning’s Harrodsburg, Ky. plant). Willow Glass will be introduced as the protection for faceplates of smart phones, tablets and other electronic devices later this year.

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The 2013 Glass Factory Directory of North America is now available, as a .pdf, in a print edition or as an electronic data base. The Directory is updated annually. More information is available at: www.glassfactorydirectory.com

The strong “Chemcor” glass developed at Corning almost 50 years ago is now sold as “Gorilla Glass” for use as screens on personal electronic devices using touch screen technology.

Today this glass is made by Corning using a fusion-draw process in Harrodsburg, Ky., and is an alumino-silicate glass, not the everyday soda-lime glass. In the fusion-draw process hot glass is pumped into a suspended trough and allowed it to overflow and run down either side. The glass flows then meet under the trough and fuse seamlessly into a smooth, hanging sheet of glass. Fusion-draw glass is tempered in a chemical bath, and does not use heat-tempering as many sheet glasses do. The resulting liquid-crystal glass can be made very thin and is very strong. More than 100-plus handheld devices use this glass.

Gorilla Glass LCD television screens will be available from some manufacturers this year. Sony showed Bravia model televisions with these screens at the 2011 Consumer Electronic Show in January. With production going full-tilt in Harrodsburg, Ky., Corning is converting part of a second factory in Shizuoka, Japan, to fill the growing orders.